***** Challenge no. 129- Natural HDR!- *****

First I want to thank
dread_tai
, the host of the previous challenge "The Eyes have it", for choosing my photo for a winner!

The subject for Challenge #129 is
"NATURAL HDR"
. HDR and tonemapping are probably one of the most discussed topics in photography lately, and the discussions usually get pretty hot. Comments vary from "Whew, that's nasty, my eyes hurt, I hate it" to "Wow, I love it! It's so great!". I chose this topic because :
1. the ones I first thought of have already been done;

2. I wanted to show that not all HDRs are "bad", and a lot of nice photos have been made that way;

3. there are so many ways of achieving great results and not make the photo look like "clown's vomit"

So, people, guys and gals, this is all about n-a-t-u-r-a-l HDRs, more or less Dynamic Range Increase, very careful tonemaping or exposure fusion. "Good HDR is the one you can't tell that it is HDR".

ANY type of photos are open for submittion- landscapes, seascapes, interiors, exteriors...anything that has been made of at least 3 photos with different exposures (automatic or manual bracketing). There is no upper limit for number of files that the HDR was made from. Any software and technique can be used as soon as the sliders are not to the max! Please specify the number of files used for fusion. The scene itself should preferably be DYNAMIC, one that cannot be achived with regulat post-processing of 1 photo, be it 14-bit RAW file. Not so dymamic scenes are still accepted as long as they are kept natural. I would rather
NOT
see overly blown highlights, halos, noise, over tonemapping or saturation. We are looking for well balanced photos with detail in the shadows as well as in the highlights.

Attention!
"False" HDRs are not accepted. By "false" I mean only 1 tonemapped photo or HDR from extracted exposures from 1 RAW file!

I am attaching some examples I think suite the topic (though there are different tastes), and I am pretty sure there will be some mind blowing photos from forum participants. All these are from at least 5 exposures, max 11:

These dreamy types of HDRs are
NOT
the subject of this challenge, but still, if you consider your photo natural you are welcome to post it:

I think 2 weeks would be enough for everyone to participate if they are so inclined, read about HDR if you haven't, open up some old sets and give them a new spin, so the deadline will be Sunday, October 9th, 2011, 19:00 GMT, with results announced one or two days afterwards.

Don't forget - Please reply to the FIRST (ORIGINAL) post if you are submitting an entry and RENAME THE SUBJECT TO INDICATE THE TITLE OF YOUR ENTRY.
R U L E S

The host gives you a topic of interest and you get going. You post ONE image (if you post more than one image, the first will be your entry in the challenge). The host chooses a winner after closing. The decision of the judge (the Host) is final. The judge is not eligible. The winner then chooses the next topic, runs the challenge, judges the winner and passes on the baton to that person. If the winner fails to post a new challenge within 72 hours of being declared the winner then the runner-up should post the new challenge within a further 24 hours. ANY NIKON CAMERA IS ALLOWED (A P&S used by a member of this forum is also allowed).

Feel free to comment on other contestant's images. If you want someone to leave you a piece of constructive criticism, put a (CC) next to the title of your image [e.g. Sunset with Canada Geese (CC)].

Please embed your image in the thread. Try to resize your photos prior to posting so they're sized appropriately for viewing without having to scroll (900 pixels on the longest side works best)
REMEMBER TO REPLY TO THE FIRST POST OF THIS THREAD!

At last but not least I wish the best for all people participating, have fun and look forward to what is to come!
Cheers, George

p.s. I don't want to start any flame about good/bad HDR, just want to see some beautiful photos! I know you have them, just show them! And I know there are a lot of people who would love to try something new, now is the perfect moment!
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